Painted in 1942 by American Regionalist
artist John Steuart Curry, "The Freeing of the Slaves" mural
still dominates
the Law Library's Old Reading Room.

Originally destined for the U.S. Department
of Justice Building in 1936, the mural's design was rejected as
too racially
controversial for Washington DC. Curry's powerful sketches did,
however,
catch the attention of then Law School Dean, Lloyd Garrison.
Grandson
of famous Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Dean Garrison
felt a strong
connection to the work.

Upon Curry's appointment as artist-in-residence
at UW-Madison, Garrison approached the artist about painting the
work
in what was then the "new" Law Library Reading Room. Curry
accepted and
began work on the mural, which was located right above the bustling
new circulation
desk.

Upon it's completion, Curry wrote this
of the mural: "I feel in this painting I have made a work that
is historically
true and I also feel that it is prophetic of that which is to
come."

In addition to the mural at the Law School,
Curry painted other works on campus including "The Social
Benefits of
Biochemical Research" in the Biochemistry Building and a
memorial painting
to All-American David Nathan Schreiner in the National W Club
room in
Camp Randall.

For more information about the mural, see the framed
history with comments by the artist and Dean Garrison on the
west
wall of the Old Reading Room. A reprint of an article about
the mural
which appeared in the The Gargoyle also hangs on
the west
wall.* Full color copies of this article are available at
the Reference
Desk.

* Paul Reidinger, The Law School's Curry Mural: One of the Grandest
and Most Distinguished Works of Art in Wisconsin, XVI The
Gargoyle
10 (Summer 1985).